FROM THIS EPISODE

The LA Unified School Board election has become Ground Zero for education reformers including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The teachers' union is fighting back, but can't match the $3.2 million being spent to make sure John Deasy remains superintendent. Also, upscale families are gentrifying downtown LA and other neighborhoods. If local schools aren't up to their "standards," should they push for new charters or try to improve schools that are already there? On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, the Voting Rights Act gets another day in court.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has contributed $1 million to three candidates for the Los Angeles Unified School Board. A total of $3.2 million is being spent on behalf of Board President Monica Garcia, Antonio Sanchez, who's running for an open seat, and Kate Anderson, who's challenging incumbent Steve Zimmer on the Westside.

LA Unified has more charter schools than any other school district in the United States — with 15 percent of the student population. Now the elected board has approved yet another charter in downtown LA. KCRW's Anna Scott has the story.